Stay Strong
by AquaPurpleBubble
Summary: Love is a strange emotion. It twists and turns in it's demonic ways. It can never be happy; either it's denied by an authoritive figure or by it's predecessor. Rukia feels trapped and confused, all she can do is call out the owner of her heart regretfully
1. Tears

Disclaimer: I dont own Bleach... at all

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked the raven haired girl who was staring out the window.

"Hmm...?" She replied, not bothering to look away from whatever was outside.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ichigo came up behind her.

"Yes, I'm fine." She answered, looking up at him with expressionless eyes.

"Okay, do you wanna do anything today?"

"No... I think I'll just stay in."

"Are you sure? I think I'm gonna go out, you don't wanna come?"

"Yes, I'm sure... thanks though."

"Well, I'll be back soon and if you need me for anything, I'll have my cell on."

"Okay."

Ichigo slowly put his sweater on and headed outside. Once Ichigo was gone Rukia slid to the floor, releasing the many tears she'd been storing.

She was afraid to let anyone see her like this: weak. She couldn't stand their looks of pity and babying words meant to make her feel better. Yet, as much as she couldn't stand everyone's pity, it reassured her that she wasn't all alone in this desolate world, that she still made some type of impact on peoples' lives.

Ichigo couldn't remember the last time he and Rukia had joked around, in fact, he could hardly remember the last time she had smiled, a real, genuine smile. She worried him and just about everyone else who knew her. Rukia knew she was causing worry and greif, yet she did nothing about it. She had created a tough shell, allowing noone to break it. Something had happened back in the Soul Society, something had gone wrong, but she had said nothing of it, just requested that they leave right away. Now whatever had happened was haunting her, bringing her immense pain and depression.

Ichigo and all his friends had tried everything to make Rukia happy, nothing was working. It was hard leaving her all alone, but Ichigo knew she needed time for herself and maybe she might relent on ther shell and release some of her pain.

On his way home from his walk, Ichigo picked up some of Rukia's favorite candy with hope that it might cheer Rukia up. Ichigo took his time walking home, taking in everything he saw and passed. Sighing, he opened the front door, slipped his shoes off, then took the stairs by two's. Quietly, he opened the door to his room and poked his head in first then slowly opened it all the way and allowed himself in, shutting it behind him.

Rukia sat on the floor with her head tucked under her arms. Ichigo set the candy down on his bedand knelt down in front of her. Carefully, put a hand on her shoulder and slowly she raised her head to look up at him with red- rimmed eyes. A gush of emotion swarmed through Ichigo as he pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes and turned away, pulling away as she did so. He sat back and looked at her with confusion contorting his features. Rukia leaned back, avoiding Ichigo's topaz eyes that searched her expression, looking for some clues as to what she was feeling. Holding his hand out, Ichigo grasped her chin to look her in the eyes. She glared back at him, still trying to to break away from his contact, but he only held on tighter a look a seriousness glaring back at her.With tears in her eyes, Rukia slapped Ichigo across the face allowing her to break his grasp. Frustrated, Ichigo grabbed both of her arms and held them to her sides. She struggled, trying to push him away, only he held on tight and pulled her towards him. Rukia hit him again and again as Ichigo brought her into his arms. Finally, exhausted and distraugt, Rukia collapsed into his open arms, letting her tears flow free.

All the pain and emotions she'd been bottling up for so long escaped, coming in waves of sorrow. Holding on tight to Ichigo, Rukia burried her head deep in his arms, releasing her sobs.

Ichigo hadn't expected this of Rukia but gladly comforted her, soothing her and stroking her unwashen hair, unbelievably still silky and beautiful. He moved up against the wall and placed Rukia so that he was cradling her like a child.

Rukia had never shown this side of herself and it marveled Ichigo that she could be so tender and defenseless. A new feeling of respect for Rukia and also a feeling he couldn't quite explain. One thing he could understand was how he felt towards her, he felt a new sense of togetherness, like they had connected in some way they never had before, there on the floor in each others' arms.


	2. The Guilt, The Pain, The Departure

**Yeah!!!! Chapter 2, finally.. **

It was sometime during the night the Rukia woke up, ashamed and disgusted with herself. Ichigo's arms were tight around her shoulders and his breath was warm and moist on the back of her neck. His head was bent forward, resting on her left shoulder and one leg was propped up, supporting her back.

Guilt ate at her. He didn't deserve this, he didn't deserve any of this. His life was ruined because of her. If she hadn't ever come, he could of had a normal life. He didnt need to shed any blood for her, to save her life, to stress and worry about her. This was all her fault and it was her problem, she's have to deal with it on her own. She'd have to go back to the Soul Society, the exact place she'd been running from, the place she had hoped to never see again.

But part of her didn't want to leave, this place had begun to feel like a sort of home. Yet another part of her didn't want to leave Ichigo. She'd yet to admit she had feeling for him out loud. Only once had she actually said it and look where it had gotten her. Months of depression, an unyeilding pain deep inside her, and feelings of worthlessness.

It was because of her feelings for him that all of this was happening, it was all her fault, everything.

If onle she could take that whole heated argument with Byakuya back, when she'd foolishly said those three little words.

Rukia was brought out of her thoughts when Ichigo's head rolled back and one of his hands slid down her waist. Color rose to her face when she realized how close she was to him, how close they were together. Even if he was asleep, the act still made her jittery and weirdly nervous.

Allowing herself one more moment with Ichigo, she curled herself into his embrace enjoying his clean yet natural scent. She willed herself not to cry. not to wake him up; it'd just make leaving that much harder.

Raising her head slightly, she gently pressed her lips onto the soft skin of his neck.

"I'll be back to finish that." she quietly whispered to his sleeping form, meant more of a vow to herself than for him to hear.

Slowly, she lifted one arm of his then the other off herself and quietly picked herself up. The movement caused Ichigo to slide downwards but surprisingly didn't wake up.

Quickly, she gathered her few belongings and sat in her closet one last time. Tears pricked at her eyes she felt so safe and secure here, so much that she even thought of staying. But she quickly dissmissed the thought, if she was ever going to be happy again, she'd have to go back. It was the only way.

Gracefully, she jumped onto the window ledge. Then without looking back, jumped off, holding her dress so it wouldnt blow upwards.

Each step she took reminded her of where she was going, what she would have to accomplish there.

**THERE!!!!!!!! chap 2 done!!! well updations should be quicker now!! thank you for staying with me!!!** and please review!!!!!


	3. Huh?

**Chapter 3, this is Ichigo's side of the night, i forgot to put it but chapter 2 was Rukia's side...**

Rukia's sobs had quieted down, subdued to gentle breathing. Her head rested on his Ichigo's shoulder, the dim light from the street showing that her eyes were peacefull closed.

Lightly stroking her hair, Ichigo gazed down at the small death god in his arms. She had shown him a weakness and she had shown him a strength. A strange surge of pride went through Ichigo. Never before had he felt this close to her. There had always been a line drawn between them, neither ever crossing. However, it seemed the line was now invisible. One thing Ichigo had never seen was Rukia crying, he thought it was impossible. He only hoped that Rukia would begin to get better; that tomorrow would be different, that he might be able to see her smile which he'd missed so much these past few months.

It was then that Ichigo became confused. Why was he suddenly so protective of her? Wasn't he usually annoyed and pissed off with her?Where were all these mushy, girly feelings coming from? For a few minutes he freaked out, his mind confused and reeling. Then he looked back down at her. Instantly he knew where all these feelings were coming from.

She just looked so cute and vulnerable, curled up in his arms, that he knew somewhere deep down inside he had feelings for her. It was obvious then that he had had them for a while and he just couldn't admit it to himself til then. Deciding he'd tell her tomorrow, caused a rush of adreniline to pump through him as he tilted his head down and gave her forehead a gently, lingering kiss. Sighing, then leaning back, he closed his eyes; he could finally go to sleep knowing everything was going to be okay.

Rays of sun shone through the open window bringing a gentle breeze with them. Opening one eye slowly Ichigo sighed then rolled over, expecting to see the dark haired midget. Confused when he didn't see Rukia, Ichigo propped himself up, looking around but not seeing the the little death god.

"Oi! Baka, get out of the closet!" Ichigo was still on the floor, but when no response of any kind came back, he quickly stood up, reaching out towards the closet. He knocked once then slid the door free to see a normal closet filled with folded blankets; gone were all of Rukia's things.

Letting go of the closet door, he backed away, hugging himself as a cold breeze mad him shiver. His attention was then directed to the open window; he didn't remember ever opening it. Weirdly cautious, he walked over to the open window, sticking his head out to look around. No traces of the raven haired shinigami could be seen so he pulled himself back in and began to pull the window back down. Just before it closed all the way, he noticed a strip of colorful cloth fluttering in the slight breeze. He pulled it free from it's snag and shut the window.

"Nii-san!" Ichigo's head turned to see Yuzu poking her head in his room looking at him expectantly. "Are you ready for yet?"

"oh, um-" he noticed his sister was looking at him weirdly and realized he was still in yesterday's rumpled clothes fingering some brightly colored cloth. "Not yet, give me another minute and I'll be down there, okay?"

"Sure..." Yuzu cast him another confused look before closing his door and walking off.

Hurriedly, he put on the first clothes he saw and splashed some water on his face in the bathroom. As he was drying his face with a towel, he really saw himself. He could tell he looked tired by the dark circles under his eyes and his unruly hair. He was having trouble remembering when the last time he got a full night's sleep was.

"Hurry up, Ichigo!" his father's booming voice reminded him that he supposed to be hurrying.

"Hold on a second" Ichigo yelled back going into his room for his bag. He paused at his door, looking once again at the empty closet. Sighing, he shook his head hoping Rukia would just be at school already and ran down the stairs where his family was waiting with annoyed expressions.

"Finally, god, could he be more of a girl?" Karin mumbled, following after Ishiin to the car. Ichigo ignored the remark and followed outside, closing the door behind him.

**Okay, please tell me how you like it or hate it... in reviews and i know it might be really crappy but it would be nice if you could give me advice or something... thankyou!!**


	4. What now?

**Hello! THIS IS CHAPTER 4 ...ER. I MEAN 5. I THINK. so yeah.**

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Disclaimer: I dont own Bleach... at all

"Oi! Kurosaki! Where's your girlfriend today?"

Ichigo looked up from his unread book to see Keigo walking into the classroom before class started.

"Huh?" The orange haired boy raised his eyebrows, slightly confused.

"You know, Rukia? Your girlfriend...? Where's she at?" Keigo watched as Ichigo frowned and looked around thoughtfully. It surprised him that he hadn't immediately denied her being his girlfriend or said some rude comeback.

"I don't know..." He finally said, looking him levelly in the eyes. He honestly didn't know where she was and it was really worrying him. Not one day in the past year had she disappeared completely without saying one thing about it. Maybe she had felt so akward or embarrased after her "break down" that she was forced to leave. But that couldn't be the reason, he knew Rukia was stronger than that.

"Okay... Hey. um. Have you seen the new guy?" Keigo sensed Ichigo's obvious discomfort on the Rukia subject and made an attempt to change it.

"Huh? What new guy?" Keigo inwardly grinned in triumph, happy that he had managed to slightly bring Ichigo out of his gloom.

"He's this big yakuza- looking guy with fiery red hair." Keigo told Ichigo then added with a shudder, "Wouldn't want to get on his bad side."

"His hair happen to be up, like in a pony-tail?" Ichigo asked, not believing that Renji would actually go to school.

"Um- yeah. I think so- kinda spikey on top?"

"Yeah, Hmm... what the hell's he doing down here?" Ichigo mumbled to himself, lost in his thoughts.

"huh? What? You know the guy?" Keigo asked.

"Um yeah." Ichigo responded, not bothering to give an explanation. Before Keigo could ask anything else, the teacher cleared his throat bringing everyones' attention to the front of the room.

"Class- we have a new student joining us today from - where are you from again?" Everyone looked from the teacher to the red head who had somehow gone unnoticed.

"It doesn't really matter." Renji answered with a semi-cocky grin on his face.

"Why don't you just introduce yourself then you can go sit in that empty seat near the back?" The Teacher looked annoyed and stressed out as he pointed out the empty seat next to Ichigo before sitting down behind his own desk.

"My name is Renji Abarai." was his extremely short introduction said with an eyebrown cocked and a smug smile.

After noone tried to correct him or anything he found his seat with his eyes and looked over at Ichigo, giving him a sure, smug smile. He wove his way through the other desks and slid into his own chair with ease. Renji raised his hand as if to wave hello but only Ichigo saw it's real purpose. Written in black on his hand were the words "Cause a scene and you're dead". Ichigo understood and nodded his head to show it, planning on talking with him during the break anyways.

Ichigo directed his attention to the teacher, though his thoughts were far from the lesson being taught. Something Renji had done had sparked a memory to be brought up; he just couldn't put his finger on what memory exactly. Then he remembered: Renji showing up here was almost exactly the same as when Rukia had first come to school. She had been sure of herself and even greeted him with a warning written on her hand, just as Renji had.

For some reason that memory made Ichigo...sad? Like it was a memory that could never brought back almost as if Rukia were really gone. He managed to assure himself that she wasn't gone, just taking an abrupt vacation or something. Anything but gone. Maybe Renji knew where she was and just came to tell him.Then again, Ichigo wasn't sure if he had known about her depression. Only the people who saw her frequently knew about it and the last time they had seen Renji was just before they left the Soul Society. Or maybe she was around somewhere playing a joke that wasn't very funny.

Ichigo looked over at Renji who was trying to sneak glances at some girl even though it was obvious. Tilting forward, Ichigo saw it was Tatsuki and grinned in spite of himself. Somehow, Renji had sensed he was being watched and looked Ichigo's way to see him grinning back at him knowingly. A tint of color rose to Renji's cheeks as he looked at Ichigo then back to Tatsuki, his eyes slightly widening.

"Kurosaki?"

Ichigo stopped grinning and looked up at the teacher. "Yes?"

"The answer? To the question I asked you..." If the teacher was annoyed earlier, he was pissed now.

"Could you repeat the question?" Ichigo asked, trying to at least remember what the main lesson was.

"Just as I thought, Kurosaki, please try to pay attention." The teacher said in a strained voice then continued on with the lesson. Out of the corner of his eye, he could distinctly see Renji smirking at him.

It was when Ichigo almost threw something at Renji that he began to wonder why he was suddenly so happy all of a sudden? Hadn't he been sad and anti-social these past few weeks... or months even? Maybe it had something to do with Rukia's dissapearance- he didn't have to worry about her when she wasn't there, although he still did most of the time.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING

Ichigo's thought were interrupted by the bell, indicating break time. Students filed out of the classroom, most joking around and having a good time with their friends. Just a few months ago, Ichigo had been part of that crowd,but had distanced himself since then. It seemed Rukia had rubbed off him.

Glancing around, he saw that Renji was no longer sitting beside him and got up himself. Outside in the halls Ichigo easily saw Renji's fiery hair heading the other way and followed after.

Ichigo say Renji duck into a teacher lounge room and hoped no teachers would need to lounge as he followed in after and shut the door.

After another quick check for any teachers, Ichigo turned around to see Renji leaning against a counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Where's Rukia?" Renji's cocky grin dissapeared momentarily, replaced with a confused and slightly worried expression. Ichigo's smile also dissapeared.

"You mean you don't know where she's at?"

"Why else would I ask you where she was?"

Ichigo looked down and sort of shuffled his feet, then mumbled, "I- um- i don't exactly know."

"Huh? So then where the hell is she at?" Renji raised his voice and uncrossed his arms, slightly leaning towards IChigo.

"I don't know." Ichigo looked up into Renji's eyes.

"What do you mean 'YOu dont know'?"

Ichigo took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't know, she was here last night and then this morning she was gone. I don't know where she went."

Leaning back again, Renji took a few moments to think over what had just been said. He sighed and began to rub his temples. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"I swear I didn't do anything that wouldv'e hurt her-" Ichigo was cut off by Renji threatening him.

"If you did anything to Rukia, anything, I will save Byakuya the trouble and kill you myself." Renji paused as the door opened and a teacher stepped into the room with a jaudiced expression cast over her face.

"Excuse me, what is going on in here?" The teacher asked poitedly.

Renji shot Ichigo another death glare before walking out leaving Ichigo alone with the teacher. Surprisingly, the teacher let Renji pass, not even giving him a second look while she continued to look at Ichigo as he were an assasin.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me." The lady said, leading him out of the room towards the office.

"Sit." Ichigo sat as instructed on one of the chairs in the office and watched as the teacher peeked around a few doors looking for the Headmaster.

The teacher finally disappeared around a door although Ichigo could still hear her.

"Sorry, Sir. But I have a student here who I caugh sluffing classes in the teachers' lounge."

Ichigo shook his head and rolled his eyes. 'What the hell?' he thought to himself. 'I wasn't alone in there! Why am I the only one getting in trouble? And it's not like I was just hanging out in there or causing some major disturbance.'

After another moment or two, the Headmaster came out of his office and beckoned for Ichigo to follow him back in. The teacher gave Ichigo a satisfied smirk as he passe by her. What the hell? What type of teacher does that?

Stepping into his office, Ichigo realized this was the first time in two and a half years here that he'd actually gotten in this much trouble (trouble he didn't even do). The room was way too clean; it felt like he had walked into a Office Depot add. Not a good thing.

The man cleared his throat, causing Ichigo to stop looking around the room and sit across from him.

"So, Kurosaki Ichigo, what do you have to say for yourself?" The sturdy man inquired, sitting up straight in his chair. He gave Ichigo a toothy smile which kind of scared him.

"I did not do anything." Ichigo began, with his eyes downcast and in a bore tone. He was working hard to control him emotions. Renji had left him feeling very worried and slightly scared.

"Okay...well, why don't you start with what you were doing in the teachers' lounge?" After Ichigo never continued, the headmaster tried prompting him.

"I was in the talking with Renji." Ichigo told him, not caring enough to explain.

"Renji who? Miss Osaki never mentioned a Renji"

"Renji is new today, but I don't know why she said she didn't see him because i clearly remember him being there." Ichigo leaned forward, looking down at his hands.

"So what your saying is that you were just in the teachers' lounge, where you shouldn't have been anyways, talking with a 'Renji' who the teacher never saw? Am i correct?" The Headmaster had leaned back in his chair with a casual look on his face, only a cigar couldv'e completed the look.

"Yup. Pretty much." Ichigo told him in a bored tone, hoping he would soon just drop it.

Sighing and then leaning forward again, he said, " Look, I'm really busy and don't really have much time to fully investigate everything, so how about i just suspend you for two or three days?"

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders, he really didn't care about much right now, except for finding Rukia. "Whatever." And being suspended would give him a good reason not to go to school so he could just look for her.

"OKay then, I will see you in three days back here. Have fun." The Headmaster told him, ushering him out of the office. Ichigo shook his head, this person was definetly suspicious.

The halls now empty, Ichiog walked straight to his classroom, his footsteps resounding off the blue lockers. Upon opening the door, he recieved the attention of every student in the room, but quickly disregarded them and made his way to his desk. Looking over at Renji, Ichigo was not suprised to be met with a smirk, didn't the guy know any other facial expressions? As he put his supplies back into his bag, he looked around. The room was quiet except for a group of girls whispering and giggling towards the front of the room. Everyone seemed to be watching him, even the teacher.

He pulled the zipper close on his bag and put his arms through it, still watching people watching him. He shook his head, there was seriously something wrong with people today, then exited the room, glad the teacher hadn't questioned him or anything.

Only five steps out of the building and heard someone running out the building after him. He didn't need to look to know it was Renji.

"What do you want now, Renji?" Ichigo asked with scorn in his voice, quickening his step.

Renji easily caught up to him and blocked him. "You think I'm actually here to go to school?" he scoffed then continued, "Hell no. I need to find Rukia and you are going to help. Either that or Byakuya skins us alive."

Ichigo looked up at Renji, a hard glint in his eyes. "With or without you, I would find her any way I could." Ichigo stated, then walked around him continuing on down the street.

Renji rolled his eyes but followed after anyways.

* * *

_(this changes back to Rukia, sorry if it is confusing)_

Things felt different, Rukia noted as she walked down a street in the Soul Society. The leaves were fading to orange and some coated the ground beneath her. Dawn was just coming and the area felt deserted. Rukia automatically became paranoid when she heard crunching behind her. Footsteps that were getting closer and closer...

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**Bye. hope you liked it. maybe not though. it was way long (ish?) and it hardly went anywhere. sorry. but i really don't know what i am doing. so yeah. please, please REVIEW and tell me maybe what might make it better or if it was just plain disgustingly horrible or if by some chance you liked it. THANKS FOR READIN IT!**


	5. Run, Hide, Maybe Even Fight

**Hey People I am back. Hello.**

Run, Hide, Maybe Even Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's characters.

The adrenaline rush Rukia had experienced as she hastily left the human world was finally beginning to wear off as fear and paranoia took over. The inner gears in her brain that had once supplied her with quick and effective strategies were now rusted as her depression had left her little time in which she needed to think in action.

Her energy, which had been low even as she was lying in Ichigo's arms, was now completely spent. Each step was almost labored and she feared she would collapse if she attempted to run.

Furtively, she looked around, hoping to see someone, anyone that could help her in some way. The streets were empty and the few houses all seemed to be vacant. She could still hear the person behind her, his pace was even but even she could tell he would soon catch up. She didn't dare turn around, afraid of what she might see. Foolishly, she quickened her step, fully aware that now the person following her would happily continue after her, believing this was all a sort of sick game. Rukia had been in this position too many times before, running from many frightening hollows when she was still quite new to the job, that she practically knew the person's full game plan. She only cursed herself when she realized she would lose this time as she was no where near being able to turn around and fight the person off.

Nausea and desperation washed over her when she thought about all the things she would never get to see or experience again. Her brother. She felt horrible how things would end; with them in a fight. She wished he could know how she felt now, and know that she was grateful for everything he'd ever done for her.

Ichigo. She'd never gotten the chance to tell him how she loved him or how she was thankful for all the things he had done for her. Not even to tell him good bye.

She found she wasn't really scared of how she would die but what she would leave undone and behind.

A snicker eclipsed her thoughts and she realized she had reached a dead end. Loathing churned deep inside her; for herself. She couldn't believe how weak she had been, not paying attention whatsoever, not even giving up a fight. She was even surprised her follower hadn't just gotten bored with her, they usually liked a good chase and she wasn't even giving him a hint of one.

Defeated, Rukia's knees collapsed from under her, inches away from the ten foot high wall. She rested her forehead against the cool stones, holding back the whimpers that threatened to escape.

Rukia strained her eyes shut and desperately wished this was all a nightmare. Her ears caught no other sound besides her breathing and stomach growls and began to wonder if she were now safe and the person had finally wandered off. A sigh escaped her lips as she rationalized that it was all just a figment of her imagination. She lifted a knee and began to straighten up when she felt a hot, moist breath reach her neck. The raspy words, "Fear me," were breathed against her ear and she crumbled once again.

She lowered herself closer to the ground and chanced a look upwards,only to be met with two dark orbs staring back at her. The Fair light showed a sinister grin spread out on a pale face with sharp features. Rukia bit back a scream that had made it's way up and quickly cast her gaze back at the ground. An unwanted finger brushed against her cheek and she cringed, now huddled in a corner with her hands held protectively over her head.

"This was all too easy. Come on, can't you just try to make an effort?" The man sneered at her, kneeling over her.

At first, Rukia shut both her ears and her eyes to anything he had to say to her, but then she realized that he had made somewhat of a point. How much more pathetic could she get? She, Kuchiki Rukia, had defeated countless hollows, fought her way out of many battles where she had been just as defenseless as now and her she was, cowering in front of some predator. What had she become?

Her mind then strained to Ichigo. What would he think of her now? He certainly wouldn't think she was brave.

In a way, she felt like she was letting him down. He was always strong and courageous. Always fighting for others rather then himself, never giving up no matter what odds he faced. Unlike herself, he had never given up before even attempting to fight, never broken down in front of his enemy. Suddenly, she felt that she wasn't worthy of him, that she didn't deserve him. A strong desire to prove herself wrong came and she made the decision then, that she wouldn't go down without a fight. She would make Ichigo proud.

Shakily, she pulled herself up onto her knees and looked up at the guy. Truthfully, he looked bored. Noticing her attempts to stand up, he smirked down at her. "Now that's more like it." he said as if encouraging her.

She only glared back at him and steadied herself using the wall for support as she stood up. She took a moment to plan out what she needed to do and what she could do. Her options weren't many as she didn't have enough energy to fight nor to make a run, but maybe she could trick him.

Her pursuers expression was now annoyed as he advanced towards her. "God, you really are boring. What can you do?"

Rukia took a deep breath as she staggered forward. "This is for you, Ichigo." she said under her breath. The man gave her a confused look, "huh?" and slightly let his guard down. She acted swiftly, darting around him, about to deliver a kick to his lower back. He spun around, a grin on his face, and he caught her foot before it touched him and gave it a slight twist. She fell and her face contorted in pain. She grabbed her ankle, wishing she could put out the fire she felt raging there.

He circled her and clucked his tongue. "Huh. What was it you said, again?" He paused, a hand on his chin for effect. "Oh. I thought you said you were doing this for Ichigo. What would this Ichigo think of you now? I bet he woul- umph" Rukia cut him off with a fierce head butt to his abdomen. He doubled over, holding his hands over his stomach and looked over at her. "Good. But you can do better."

She sucked in a ragged breath and rolled her eyes, ignoring the severe pain she felt. The man straightened up, then put himself in a fighting stance, ready for her to attack. Once Rukia had made no attempt to advance he let out an exasperated sigh and shot at her. Rukia saw this coming and lithely leapt over him. Hearing his surprised grunt she twisted around, ready for him to come at her. With a surprised screech, she went down, not expecting him to attack her from behind. Quickly, she flipped onto her back, already planning what to do next, she was only stopped when he put his foot down on her throat. Rukia gulped and looked up at him.

For once, he wasn't smirking. His eyes were cold and cruel, merciless. She took a deep breath when he removed his foot from her throat, expecting him to begin kicking her or something else equally evil. A disgusted look crossed his features and he looked the other way, forgetting about her for the time being. She slowed her breathing, afraid he might unleash a greater force than ever on her if she brought him out of his trance like state. She lay there on the ground and watched as his expression quickly changed from disgust to a fierce contortion. She shrunk away from him as he began to kick her. Her cries pierced the calm night as he continued his relentless abuse. As quickly as he had began, he was done, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead and breathing slightly heavily. Rukia hugged herself and looked elsewhere, fearing another onslaught.

"Get up." He told her. Rukia scrambled to her feet as fast as her bruised body would allow.

"Leave. Get out of here." He spat at her, giving her push to get her away, confusing her to no avail. "You're a disgrace."

An image of Byakuya filled her mind but when she looked over again, it was still just the same man glaring at him. Those words were practically the same ones Byakuya had said to her after she had told him of her love for Ichigo. The same ones that had left her sobbing and running away from their mansion. It had been a miracle that she had managed to stop crying long enough to get out of there and that Ichigo hadn't seen through her facade. The words sent the sense of abandonment through her once again. She felt the confused feeling of being along and unloved. This time, however, would be different. She wouldn't allow herself to just slowly rot away again. If she was going to fix things, it would have to start now.

Rukia looked over at the man who was slowly walking out, back to the main street, leaving her alone in the dead end. With a deep breath and her thoughts on Ichigo, she shot after him. After easily catching up to him, she slung her arm around his neck and spun in front to deliver a swift kick to his untouchables. He did a double take and made an attempt at punching her. Rukia easily ducked but found herself surprised when she knocked to the ground. She hadn't expected that.

Rukia rolled her eyes. How stupid of her to act so impulsively. Of course he could still easily take her down. She put her arms our to her sides, ready to push herself up when out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the man coming towards her. Rukia quickly stood up but was met with a swift kick to her stomach, knocking her back down. Another attempt to stand up and she was forcefully pushed back down. Her head made a loud bang against the black- top ground. Her vision faltered and her mind spun in disillusioned circles.

Byakuya's face came into her sight. Stars seemed to shine and sparkle around him yet he still looked so real. It felt like she could just reach out and touch him, so she tried.

"Nii-sama..." she whispered, holding her hands out towards him. He looked inches away but her hands grasped nothing as her vision and her mind went blank.

* * *

**Okay. so sorry if you were disappointed or anything. i know it probably sucks. because i only did this story when i was feeling blue then i was like 'hey it might be fun to continue it' so yeah. stupid impulsiveness and now im like 'what the hell do i do now?' so yeah. if you like it or hate, who cares? review it. maybe i can reach 10 reviews?? i will worship the tenth reviewer!!**


	6. Shattered Confusion

A/N: Hey, People! I just got internet so my updations should be quicker than usual!! God, im so happy!! So, off my little internet high I will now update this story!! Thanks to everyone who has read and is reading this! It makes me happy, now if only more of you could review, because I'd like to know what you guys want out of this story and if you reviewed, I'd greatly appreciate it. So now, chapter six...

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters.

* * *

"So... where do we look now?" Renji asked, giving Ichigo a bemused, mocking smile after all of the places Ichigo had led them to held no trace of Rukia.

Ichigo shot him a glare then sat down on a bench, tired after a full day of searching for the violet eyed midget.

He was beginning to doubt they would find her that day. Everyone they came across knew nothing of her, noone claimed to have seen her. At one point, Renji had suggested going back to the Soul Society to look for her there, but Ichigo immediately refused. He had seen the look Rukia's face as they had left it and from that he knew the Soul Society was the last place she would ever run away to. Although he still didn't what had happened there, he knew it wasn't anything good. He knew it was enough to push her into a depression. There had been a few times when he had almost asked her what had gone wrong but everytime he started to, he would look at her. And every time he looked at her, he could visibly see the pain she was going through and he just couldn't bring it up. He couldn't remind her of all the things she wanted to forget. Ichigo then decided that if he couldn't talk to her about it, he'd at least be there for her. Except now, It seemed that he had somehow failed her. He obviously could have done something... differently. Maybe if her tried to talk to her or if he had given her her space, she'd still be here. Guilt began to feed on him, but he also started to feel determined to make this all better. He just had to find her, then things would finally began to fall into place and it would all be fixed. The only thing was, it was proving to be harder than he had first thought to find her and he was beginning to run out of places to look for her. The Soul Society was definetly crossed out, so that obviously only left the Human World. However, Ichigo was aware that the only places Rukia knew of were his house, the school, and Urahara's shop.

As Ichigo was lost in his thoughts, Renji sat down on the bench he was on and watched as his expression quickly changed from thooughtful to antagonized. The fiery red head cracked a smiled as Ichigo brought a hand up as if he were going to hit himself on the head. Ichigo realized his actions and looked over at Renji.

"Shit. You know who we forgot?" Ichigo asked Renji, who in turn was looking at him incredulously. The orange head ignored the look and continued on, "That bastard, Urahara!"

The red haired shinigami rolled his eyes, about to remind Ichigo that he had supplied the same thing about an hour ago only to realize it wouldn't do any good. Before Renji coul have his say Ichigo was already up and walking towards the direction in which the Urahara Shoten lay.

Ichigo, now re-energized, barely noticed Renji as he caught up with him. His thoughts lay on Urahara's shop and getting there; he was almost positive Urahara would know where Rukia was.

* * *

The first thoughts that come to mind when in solitude are ones of abondonment and worthlessness, things of that nature. Doubts and fears begin to gather, leaving a person vulnerable and regretful. They begin to resent themselves and they lose their purpose; their will to live.

Sure, Rukia had only been alone for a day or two, but when most of it was spent in a state of unconsciousness, her mind had begun to play tricks on her. She could have been out for a year and she wouldn't have known the difference.

In her deep sleep, dreams canceled each other out, people overlapped her friends, voices contorted and pitched about everywhere. It was all very overpowering and out of control. She began to feel as if she were in the powerful current of a swift river. She could Flounder and kick around in the water as much as she wanted but it was all in vain; she got nowhere. To make it worse, the river was unbelievable hot and everything stuck to her, droplets of water ran down her face, distorting her vision.

When she finally did wake up, she had the awareness of an infant, a rather sweaty infant. Kicking the blankets off, she could feel the bed she lay on was damp from her sweat, as was her hair. She knew nought of her surroundings or what had happened prior to awakening in a dark room. After mustering up enough strenght to prop herself up she found the only thing she could see was the outline of the bed she lay on. Tentatively, Rukia edged a hand out and felt she was on the floor.

Bringing her hand back, she brought it up to her left eye. It felt swollen and it hurt when she touched it. She began to wonder what had happened when she felt a long cut on her arm and little by little, the previous happening started to come back to her. A black night came back to her first, then she remembered being scared. Then the feeling of determination, and she recalled the midnight battle that had taken place on an empty street somewhere in the Soul Society. When she remembered being in the Soul Society, she wondered if she was still there or if she had somehow gotten back to the world of the living. Everything from the time of her head banging on the black top to now was a void of unknown. She could be captive at the moment or she could be with some complete stranger, or she could even just be dreaming all of this and still be safely snuggled in Ichigo's closet. But she knew she wasn't dreaming, her bruises felt all too real for this all to be a peice of her imagination.

She sighed in relief, at least she was away from the scary man that had been stalking her. Rukia didn't know who had been her hero, but that didn't really matter, at least she wasn't on the streets.

"I see you have finally awakened."

Rukia sat upright in surprise, what the hell was that?

* * *

"So, do you know where Rukia is?" Ichigo asked the foolish looking man after about fifteen minutes of small talk. Urahara had insisted on serving them tea, but only Renji had obliged, so now, they sat around a small table in a back room, two of the men sipping from dainty little cups, the other one taking turns scowling at the men, concerned only with learning about Rukia's whereabouts.

"Well, i could answer that, but I don't really want to." Urahara replied, sounding just as mysterious as he thought he was.

Ichigo sighed stressfully, "Why the hell not?!"

"Maybe you don't deserve to know." Urahara looked to Renji for back-up, he looked away. He also needed to find her, but it sounded like the crazy man knew something about Ichigo and Rukia that he didn't, and he felt that if he shut up and let them talk he would learn something that could be interesting.

"Why would I not deserve to know? I mean, how is it your business whether or not I deserve to?"

"Maybe it's not my own business, but don't you think it might help if you knew a little bit more about why she would leave before you just take off. You may seem heroic, but what happens after you save her or whatever? You think that by just finding her everything will be all better? If you think that, then maybe you should just leave." This left Ichigo quiet for once and Uruhara's features curved up into a smirk. Ichigo wouldn't admit Urahara was right but he couldn't think of anything to say back, either.

"See? Maybe you need to think over your little prince charming act, just a little bit." Ichigo face heated up in aggravation but he couldn't exactly beat up the man who was the key to finding his ebony haired companion.

As Urahara then turned to Renji to strike up a conversation, Ichigo once again let himself loose in his thoughts.

Urahara was both right and wrong.

He was right because Ichigo really did need to think about what would happen after he found her. Like, whether or not she would still be depressed and how he would keep her happy.

But he was wrong about the reason she left. What did he even mean by that? He didn't mean to sound dense or anything, but there was a reason she left? Well, of course there was, but he just thought it was a necessity or something, nothing complex.

Thinking back, Ichigo remembered a change in Rukia's behavior. Then he took that back, a baby could've detected the change in her actions, he just meant he noticed that she slowly stopping fighting him and teasing him and when she did, it was weirdly awkward. This was during the time in which she was only partly detached, before she fully stopped talking.

Later, Ichigo had started to grow suspicious and wonder what was wrong with her. He was past trying to comfort her, it was sadly getting on his nerves. He knew he should be more kind and everything, he just couldn't help but be annoyed. As much as it bugged him, though, he kept it to himself and didn't talk about it or let it show around Rukia.

Although Ichigo knew it was vain, he sometimes thought that maybe she had feelings for him, this was, of course, before he had realized he had feelings for her. He even went as far as thinking she might even ... be... be in love with him. But because he knew how stupid and vain it was, he always ignored the feeling. Plus, that still didn't answer the question as to why she left so abruptly.

What Ichigo had thought would lead to a great opiphany actually only led to more confusion. He ran a hand through his hair, coming back to reality, and began to question a ponderful Urahara once again to no avail.

* * *

Rukia's heart pounded, she could've sworn noone else was in the room with her. She quieted her breathing, she didn't know why, but for some reason it just seemed that if she did she could hide or something. She hated herself at that moment, exhaustion and hunger were getting to her, it wasn't Rukia to think that slowing her raging oxygen intake would fool someone enough to think she wasn't there. But, she just couldn't think of what else to do. She was so weak at the moment, she had nothing to protect her, she was basically a small, unknowing child. There was nothing she could do, nothing. It was best, she resolved, to wait for the other person to make the first move.

"Don't be afraid." The voice in the dark said again. It seemed to come from every corner in the room. Rukia thought to herself, while shivering in fear, _If he doesn't want me to be afraid, why won't he just turn on a fucking light? Wait, that voice sounds familiar... is it ... Nii-sama's? _

A light flickered on in a corner, revealing a small mat on the floor (which Rukia was on), the lamp resting on a small stand, and a chair with Byakuya seated on it.

Forgeting, she was supposed to be mad and unforgiving towards him, she automatically jumped up and hugged him. All thoughts of his nobleness and her injuries were also tossed to the side, which she stupidly ignored. She was just happy to see him, happy he wasn't some stranger or some sociopath set on killing her. Only, as her arms clasped around his neck, which went rigid with surprise, did she remember how badly she felt and she collapsed. His strong build tensed as he caught her then set her down, as if she had mistakenly fallen on him.

She looked up at him, helpless. She caught the look in his eyes, the one of disgust and embarrasment. At that moment she hated her brother so much, it was uncomprehendable. How could she forget his coldness? SHe looked down, ashamed.

"Rukia." The raven haired girl looked up, expectant. "Why have you returned?" Those few words shattered her heart once again. A tear slid down her cheek and she hastily brushed it off, he didn't deserve her tears.

* * *

A/N: I hope that was satisfactory, if you thought it was or not, review. thanks. oh and, true to my words, Oh 123PIKACHU- i worship thee. Thankyou for being my tenth reviewer! It made me greatly happy to see I hade 12 reviews!! Thankyou, everyone! Please if you read this, you might as well review it! and since I got internet I should update soon!!


	7. Brief Courage and Stupidity

A/N: Hello, this is Chapter Six.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's characters.

Rukia wipped away the lone tear, took a deep breath and stood up. Fearlessly, she looked her brother in the eye. Ignoring the ripping pain his words had just lashed at her, she began to talk.

"I have returned not only to prove to you my love for Ichigo, but also that I don't care what you think. I am done caring about your cold soul. Throughout my entire exsistence here at this cursed mansion, I have obeyed your rules, gone with them even if they were ludicrisly stupid. I have done everything in my power not to disrespect the noble clan of the Kuchiki, to show I deserve this role.

"I even have foolishly respected you, I thought I wanted to follow in your footsteps, to carry on your legacy, but as I look at you now, I can't understand why I ever wanted that. You're stubborn and what's more, you're cruel hearted.

"But besides that, even though I have done everything I can to uphold the name, Kuchiki, I have been denied the one thing I truly want. I have been denied my heart's true desire. I don't ask for much, the one thing besides Ichigo I have asked for was your approval. Even that I have not been allowed.

"Ichigo may be a human, he may not be noble, but he is the man I love. The man who saved my life. The man who carries my heart. I can see, however, that none of this matters to you, you who has supposidly loved before, well that must be a lie, too. I can't see how you would so heartlessly hurt me if you had been in love, too. My own sister at that.

"But no matter, I just think you should know this before I entirely dissappear from your life.

"I may have respected you once in my life, but that is not how it is now." Her eyes shone with both tears and pride. Not once before had she ever talked to him like that and it felt both invigorating but also painstakingly hard. Hard to let him go so quickly. But if that was how it was going to be, then so be it.

His cold mask, for once, had been let down. He looked slightly regretful and maybe, ashamed? She couldn't exactly tell. His eyes gave off a sad, resigned look as they looked down at the grey floor. She had to get out of there, now. This was all too much, she wasn't prepared for the emotional abuse it would cause, she had to leave now.

Rukia turned around, now aware of her surroundings. She was in the Kuckika Mansion, it was a wonder she didn't know it before, although she was just waking up from being unconscious, so maybe it was understadable. She realized she was in one of the rooms that house the servants. (A/N: haha, Byakuya's evil to his servants.)

She excited the door, heading out into the main hallway when a hand grasped her arm.

* * *

"Okay, okay, I guess I will tell you since you won't stop whining about it." Urahara said referring to how Ichigo was continusly yelling at him to just tell him where Rukia was.

"Finally, God, just tell me and we'll leave." Ichigo said, returning to his seat after threatening to beat the eccentric man to a pulp.

"So, what have you figured out? What are you going to do once you find her?" He asked Ichigo; his state of being returning to his ponderful, gypsy state.

"Not this again, I don't know, I'll figure it out later."

"You mean that whole time I was talking to Renji you were thinking about other things besides what I told you to talk about?" Urahara asked, slightly dissappointed and surprised, "I assumed you cared for Rukia more than that, or at least enough to breifly think about things."

"Of course I thought about it all, I just still don't know what to do." A semi- remorseful look crossed Ichigo's features, it was so sad to have Urahara look down at him like that.

A smirk started on Urahara's face, "You liar! You do know what you're going to do, you just don't want to say it, right?"

"No..." Ichigo said, which caused Urahara's face to fall.

Renji looked on through confused eyes, he had no idea what was happening.

"Huh? What are you guys even talking about? I thought we were just here to find out where Rukia is." Renji interjected.

Before Ichigo could say anything that would save his secret feelings, Urahara answered the confused boy. "We're talking about Ichigo's lovely feelings for Rukia, and what he's going to do, because the idiot still doesn't know she loves him." Urahara looked blissful as he said the words while Ichigo visibly reddened, and Renji felt stupid for not noticing any of the things the man had just mentioned as they were all pretty obvious now that he thought back. "Even after I gave him two hours to think it all through, he still couldn't sum up enough brain cells to realize what she was going through."Urahara added as a side note.

Ichigo, lost in his thougts, didn't hear anything besides 'she loves him' and immediately started to wonder whether or not it was true.

"Are you serious? She... she lov-ves me?"

The two men looked at him like he was a lost cause. He got the answer from their looks and looked up at something with a happy, dreamy look in his eyes.

"Ichigo?? Are you okay??" Renji waved his hands infront of the oranged haired man's face trying to get a response.

"huh? oh, yeah." He responded after a few seconds, "So where is she at?"

Urahara shook his head, an amused look on his face, "Young love, so joyful... So, now think hard, I can't give you the answer, that would be too easy. So, just think, when did her problem start?"

Ichigo thought back, then said with certainty, "When we were in the Soul Society, we were about to leave after I saved her and she started to act distant and all that."

"Okay, did she go anywhere before you guys left... maybe alone to take care of some stuff?"

"hmm..." he pondered that for a moment, " Yeah, I think she went to her brother's or something and when she came back she just wanted to leave..."

Urahara gave him a look, saying something like, 'yeah? isn't it obvious.'

Ichigo didn't catch the look and Renji had to add his share in. "Her brother is Byakuya Kuchiki, you remember him, strong, really strict and mean, cold? You know, you fought him..."

"What does her brother have to do with Rukia?"

Urahara and Renji exchanged a look, here they were practically spelling it out to him and he still didn't know anything.

"Nevermind, she went back to the Soul Societ, now leave before i have an anxiety attack or something. I'm done trying to help you, it's like you were born yesterday. I swear, I thought you were smart, but now I'm not so sure, I'll just leave this all to you, have fun when you guys get to the Soul Society. Sorry I can't come along, I would like to live a few more years." Urahara said, giving up on helping them, as he ushered them out of his shop.

Ichigo looked confused and was about to explode about always helping him when he was in trouble when Renji quickly pushed him out the door. Now out in broad daylight, Ichigo squinted at Renji, " What the hell was that for?"

Renji just walked on, "Come on we might as well get going, Get my death over with."

Renji pulled a zanpakuto from out of nowhere, and held it up in the air, soon the gates to the Soul Society opened up and Renji motioned for Ichigo to enter. Renji soon followed after. Ichigo smiled, thinking he would soon be with Rukia.

* * *

Rukia looked back at her brother, the hard glint still in her eyes, she wasn't going to take any of his crap. As much as she wanted to get out fo there, she still wasn't going to show a weakness of any sort. She would save any sort of emotions till when she was alone.

"I was just looking out for you."

Rukia tore her arm from his hold, and turned back to walk away. Before exciting the house, she turned around, "Now you won't have to look out for me anymore." She said the words harshly, then ran out of the house, she couldn't walk anymore; she had to run. She ran throught the streets until she found a nice secluded spot. Leaning against a wall, she slid down it until she was in a sitting position. It was all so... tormenting, she finally concluded.

Tears stained her vision, enough to not notice the person coming until they were right next to her. She jumped as much as she could in her slumped position out of surprise.

* * *

A/N: Good Gracious, I think i broke a record- i think that was like the most amount of utter crap i could have ever written. I just wanted to get it done and stuff so I like just typed everything down from the top of my head. I know Ichigo and Renji are way ooc and stuff, so just be nice and please still review. I think this story is coming to a near end and i would like to know what you guys all think. So Please Reveiw! they make me very happy and I would really want to update if I recieved some stuff... so until next time, AquaPurpleBubble


	8. Confronted Emotions

A/N: Hello, I hope this doesnt dissappoint any of you, but I really don't know what to do next so I'll give it my best shot. I'm sorry to say I don't know much about how the SS looks so I may totally mess it up, and if i do, don't hesitate to correct me, I expect lots of mistakes in this chapter! And thanks to all those who reviewed on the last chapter! I was so happy to get four more reviews! Thanks, Chapter 8:

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters.

* * *

(A/N: Sorry if you are confused at the first part, I didn't want to prove my lame knowledge of the Soul Society by crapping it up So i skipped the part where they get to the mansion and now it's confrontation timE!)

"What the hell did I do now?" Ichigo demanded in a whiny voice, ignoring Renji's warnings that he should just back down; Byakuya was not one to be reckoned with, something Ichigo refused to acknowledge.

"You." Byakuya pointed at Ichigo once again with a distressed look on his face.

"Yeah, Me? What?" Ichigo mocked the man who was clearly getting madder by the second. Renji only backed further away, it was too late to save his friend; Ichigo was on his own now.

"It's all your fault," Byakuya hissed, advancing towards Ichigo who only continued to firmly stand his ground.

"What's all my fault?"

"You know what you did." Byakuya glowered, "You took her away from me, that's what you did, and now you'll pay for it."

"What do you mea-" Ichigo asked only confused for a second or two. Suddenly, it all made sense. Urahara had said Rukia loved him and he remembered how she had begun to act weirdly after he rescued her, then she had gone to talk to her brother. Ichigo had known Rukia long enough to know she respected Byakuya and told him everything; she must have gone to tell him that and Byakuya must of told her he wouldn't except her love Ichigo or something of the sort.

'Wow' Ichigo thought, 'she cared about him enough to feel bad about his dissaproval.' He also felt slightly jealous, he wanted her to care about him that much.

Ichigo chuckled to himself, he had been oblivious to all of this. Boy, did he feel stupid. But he would think more about that later, he was kinda busy at the moment.

"I didn't take her away, you pushed her away. ... So, if your looking for someone to blame, just look in a mirror." Ichigo faced Byakuya defiantly, Renji noted Ichigo was very courageous; it took a lot of guts to face Byakuya Kuchiki. Stupid but Brave.

The black haired man looked taken aback, though he tried to hide it. He didn't say anything. It surprised Renji that Byakuya hadn't hit Ichigo by now, it wasn't like him to take such a remark.

Ichigo took Byakuya's silence as a mark to go on. "It's your problem that she's unhappy, so it's on you to fix it. All I can do is love her back." On the last sentence Ichigo replaced his stoic expression with a smirk. Only Byakuya glared him back to being serious. "By the way, where is Rukia?"

Renji realized he had also failed to notice the absence of the person at subject due to the increasing tension that had arisen in the room. On their way to the mansion, both Ichigo and Renji had assumed Rukia would be there and once they got there, Byakuya and Ichigo were at each other's throats almost immediately, making them all somehow forget about the girl at question.

Byakuya looked down and Renji was almost sure he saw an ashamed look on his Captain's face, something Ichigo also noticed. "What did you do to her?" Ichigo had a definite amount of threat in his voice. The orange haired boy was gainin confidence and getting cocky because of the weakness Byakuya was showing.

It was something Byakuya had noticed and the next time he looked up, an expression of fury was on his face that showed, although he felt remorseful he was STILL Byakuya Kuchiki and nobody talked down to Byakuya Kuchiki. Unless, of course, they were of nobler blood than he, which of course Ichigo was not.

"I acted in a manner of which I regret and she fled. To where, I do not know." Regaining control and composure, Byakuya continued."I'll admit I could have acted with more understanding," He paused and Ichigo scoffed which was silenced by a glare from Byakuya. "But what's done is done and I can only hope she will forgive me."

Ichigo nodded his head, not at all looking surprised about Byakuya's ungaurded confesssion while Renji was wondering why he had never seen this side of his Taichou before. Shit, he was still amazed Byakuya even had a sentimental bone in his body.

"She probably will," Ichigo commented and in a way, it ended the conversation.

* * *

Rukia wiped away the tears from her eyes, but her worries dissappeared when she saw it was a friend and not a foe.

"Rukia," The male greeted her as he sat down across from her on the cement-filled ground.

"Ukitake-" Rukia began, confused as hell as to why he was there. "Why-...Wha-?" She couldn't seem to phrase her questions correctly but it didn't matter because he answered her unasked inquiries with more puzzling things.

"I can see things didn't go to well with your brother." he noted earning a nonplussed look from Rukia. "You're crying and I saw you running away from him, so I followed." He quickly added, dissmissing any of her thoughts that he had been stalking her or anything of that sort.

Although Jushiro had told her of how he knew things hadn't gone smoothly, Rukia was still confused. "But, how did you even know that my brother and I were... having... trouble?" Rukia asked, uncertain of how to say the last part.

"Byakuya talks, you know. Especially after a few cups of sake." Ukitake smiled to himself then looked back at Rukia, "He felt bad about what he'd done, he said he regretted it. You know he's not good with emotions." The blond haired man had expected Rukia, of all people, to understand and looked over at her, picturing her with an understanding expression on only to see her instead with a pissed-off expressin on.

"Then why can't he deal with his emotions any other way? Why does he have to shit all over me?!" Her mood had obviously swung from sad to pugnacious.

"I was trying to help him do that with the guy in the alley. I didn't think you'd end up fighting him- I also didn't think Byakuya would deal with him so fast. I had purposely chosen a strong guy so Byakuya would have time to release his stored anger through fighting before you'd talk to him. But, because of my failure to communicate with the guy, my plan was ruined." Ukitake was talking in a way that made Rukia think he had forgotten she was there, he sounded more thoughtful then informative. Then Rukia rethought what he just said, replaying his words in her head.

"YOU PAYED A PMAN TO HURT ME?!" she shouted, aggravated enough to jump up.

"Uh, no-... I mean, er..." Ukitake looked around, stunned, had he really just said that out loud?

Well, if it was too late, he might as well as try to explain himself. "Sit down, Rukia, listen to me, I thought it would help you two. Byakuya would see how much you needed him and swallow his pride long enough so that the two of you could disscuss things like normal people. I thought you guys would forgive each other, then everything would turn out happily and everyone would be satisfied and joyful... you know? But, obviously, I misjudged the three of you and now your in an even bigger mess, which I guess I'll try to fix, but..." He was cut off by Rukia.

"I can't believe you!" and she went off, he wondered if she had even heard a single word he had just said, but all he could do was sheild himself from her blows and listen to her merciless rantings.

Ukitake mentally reprimanded himself, after all the hard work he had done. Making sure no one knew Rukia had entered the tunnel, paying a man to beat up a woman (it wasn't cheap), getting Byakuya to go patrol an area he normally never touched; all of that, and for what? A waste of money and time.

"Are you even listening to me??" Rukia had noticed how he had been spaced out and became angrier. "Who do you think you are, God? Think you can just do anything you want? Meddle in anyone's life? Huh?!" Rukia had her arms on her hips, her face was red with exertion and anger, she towered over his sitting self. Jushiro looked around, glancing to see if there was anything that would capture her attention away from him. Anything, God, where are the bunnies running around when you need them?

When nothing appeared, he decided it'd be wisest just to use reasoning to calm her down. He stood up, now looking down at her, and held his arms up cautiously.

"Okay I understand why your mad-"

"You're damn right you know-" SHe continued on with relentless curses and things of the such, she had to be stopped.

"Listen, Rukia, just listen to me." He finally got her to quiet down althought she didn't meet eye contact and she still looked extremely mad.

"You should be mad and I agree with you there, but can't you also try to see my point of view?" He questioned her, she only looked his way once to glare at him but didn't say anything leading him to believe he could continue.

"Neither of you are good communicators and you're both stubborn." this earned a look of indignation from Rukia which Ukitake ignored. "I knew you wouldn't be able to work it out yourselves so I thought I'd help without telling, I kinda screwed that up, but anyways, So I made all the arrangements and everything but as you know firsthand, they all went down the drain. SO, I do admit, I should've stayed out of it in the firstplace but I was trying to help a friend. Besides, the only thing we can do now is move on and I think that will start with you talking to your brother."

Rukia still looked mad, but Ukitake could tell she had actually thought about what he had said. "I don't want to talk to him!" She said, sounding like a whiny kid. "I tried but he's just too... whatever!"

"Could it be because you, too, are just...whatever?" he asked doing the same facial expression she did when she couldn't think of a correct description.

"No! You weren't there! He was so mean and cold!"

"Maybe he was doing that so he wouldn't get hurt, maybe he was purposely putting on an act..." Jushiro tried again, a little bit more and she would tell him what was really bugging her.

"Even if he was, I don't think he cares anymore, At least, I told him I didn't. Care, that is. Then, I ran out, I just couldn't take it. He looked at me with eyes full of scorn and hate, I know he doesn't want me back." Bingo, her true inner feelings.

"I think you're wrong. He's your brother, Rukia. He cares more than anything. Enought to look after you, that's what he was doing the whole time. He just wants what's best for you."

Silence. Rukia looked down, pondering the conversation, seperating the bull from the truth. Then again, she didn't have much to lose so she might as well as bet it all.

"Fine. I'll go."

* * *

"You sure she ran off this way? 'Cause it really doesn't seem that way." Ichigo asked, playing the beta-role with Byakuya, the Omega, leading the way. That made Renji the...

"I think I would know." The stone-faced man replied, ending the short discussion.

Ichigo neglected Byakuya's tone and persisted. "Well, if she HAD run off this way, don't you think we would have seen her already?"

Byakuya stopped in his tracks, turning around to face Ichigo. "Look if you think you know so much, why don't you lead the way? We'll see how well you know your way around the Soul Society."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that. You just might learn something, I'm sure we'll find her in no time. Now that I'm leading us." Ichigo stepped forward, in front of Byakuya. Renji only rolled his eyes, he had learned it was best just to stay out of their fights for male dominance.

"Ichigo?" The orange haired boy had been facing back, showing off how he was in the lead only to quickly turn back around at the sound of a feminine voice. He stopped short, stunned. "Rukia?"

* * *

A/N: I hoped you liked that, idk about it. I kinda did.Sorry about Ukitake! I didn't know anyone who was close to Rukia and Bykuya (at least enought to do all that crap for them) so I was just like whatever I'll do Ukitake and i might've done him ooc, but I dont know cuz i dont really know him. sorry if anyone is ooc, I try not to do that, but i think i do on accident. So yeah, oh! I am obviously having trouble with my summaries!I cant seem to get it right along with how the story is going, so if any of you have a good one, I'd appreciate it if you sent it to me (through reviews or pms, idc) I'd gladly use it! gladly! once again, review, my sweet darlings! I love reviews, no matter what they say. :).

So, look forward to the next chapter! Rukia and Ichigo are finally going to see each other, after how long? a few days? lol. But, with new feelings. ;)

Thankyou!


	9. Misconstrued Regrets

A/N: Hello, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update. While I have good control over a computer, I am going to try to circulate updating my three stories. So I will update 'Hey, Miss Kuchiki' next. Hopefully tomorrow or something. I think I want to take this a different route, you will see. I know this is short, but the next chapter will be coming out soon. I promise. Review!! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update the next chapter. And you know you want to know what happens. So, thank you for reviewing last chapter, I realize I make mistakes, everyone does, and hopefully their occurrence will slow.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

"Byakuya, there was something I was needing to tell you… Could I speak with you now?" Ukitake really didn't have anything he needed to tell Byakuya, he just knew they should give Ichigo and Rukia some privacy.

Until Jushiro had said anything, Byakuya had been studying the young couple. They had both seen each other and immediately surprise had crossed their features and then they were almost locked in each others' gazes. He had almost felt as if he were intruding a private moment. He knew then that Rukia wasn't lying; they shared something special.

He nodded his head in agreement. "Renji, you should come, too. There's something we need to discuss."

Ukitake followed Byakuya with Renji in the back. The red haired shinigami looked over his shoulder once more, he was wondering what would happen once they were gone.

Once the three men had left the area, a confused silence had settled over the two which was interrupted by Ichigo.

"Rukia," The one small word left his lips, it suddenly felt as if it had a new meaning.

Her eyes were confused, a hurt showed behind them. "What are you doing here?" Her voice wasn't angry, just disbelieving and wary.

Her words carried a sting he hadn't expected. "I'm here for you," He said it as if it should have been obvious.

She looked at him uncertainly. "Why?"

He wasn't sure if he could tell her he loved her at the moment, not with the way she was acting right now.

"Dammit," He said, more in the notion of it was something he should have expected –her to be difficult- than out of frustration. He shook his head, he knew she would be tough but he just wished she wouldn't be. "Do I have to have a reason to come for you?" He looked her in the eyes and was surprised when she looked away.

"Yes, I think you do."

"Then I came because-"He paused, partly for effect and also because he wasn't quite sure of what he was going to say.

"I came because I knew you'd get into some sort of trouble and would need help to get out of. It appears I was right." He rubbed the back of his neck, knowing it was a lame excuse and knowing he was a lame excuse of a man.

"Oh," He wasn't sure if it had just been him or not, but he was pretty sure he had heard disappointment in her voice. But he didn't have time to pursue the thought further as Rukia interrupted his mind. "Well, then I guess you can go home now. I'm just fine here."

Her last sentence was a disappointment. Ichigo dropped his head and slowly started to lessen the distance between them. He stopped about a foot away from her and looked at her almost shyly. His eyes held no barrier; he was conveying how he truly felt.

"You mean you're not coming home with me?" He, himself, had noticed how he let 'home' slip; he only hoped she wouldn't think it implied something very different than what he meant.

Rukia was startled by the question; it was much unexpected coming from him. She had only imagined he would say something snide in return and flee like hell back to the Human World; it wasn't like him to be so blunt.

She shook her head, almost ashamed. She found she couldn't look him in the eye as much as his heavy, amber eyes tried to search her own.

A thought then occurred to her. Why should she be the one being cowed? He probably was playing with her emotions, using her for some reason or another. It's not like he actually cared for her right? He had said himself that he had only come to get her out of whatever trouble she was in, as if she were only an obligation, not a loved one. And even if she did return, what waited for her there? Without Ichigo's love, nothing held any sort of desire or want. Things would just return the same way they were before everything had happened. She would go back to living in his closet, which really wasn't as nice a place to sleep as Byakuya's mansion was; she would go back to living in that damn gigai. Really, when she thought about it, she was okay here. Sure, half of her heart would be in the Human World, but really, who need half of a heart?

"I'm not going back; I'm going to stay here." Even as she said the words, she still wasn't fully convinced it was the best idea. But she stayed with the idea, as stupid as it was, to hide her true feelings in fear of rejection. She had swallowed her feelings and put on an expression she knew would fool him into thinking she cared nothing for him. Part of her wanted him to see through it, or to adamantly refuse to leave her there, that they'd find a way to be together. But just like she'd suspected, he had bought into her façade.

A look of stunned shock registered on his face but it was quickly replaced by a hard, grim look.

"Okay, well," He paused as if unsure of what to say. He wasn't sure if he'd be seeing her again but he still didn't want to make things seem 'over.' But in the end, he had just settled with a simple "Bye," There was no reason to drag things out, to make them seem so much more than they really were.

Rukia kept her eyes trained on the wall. She didn't answer him, just nodded numbly as he walked off. She looked anywhere but him, he didn't need to know she was really suffering from a mental battle of what she should have done, he didn't need to know how weak she really was. Especially if it would just bring on pity, she was above that.

As he continued down the street, her mind replayed what has just happened. It seemed to keep stalling on the torn expression that had appeared on Ichigo's face. She began to realize that maybe he had only acted tough to save her the hurt, much alike to what she had done. She realized that maybe they had just used fake emotions on such a serious matter.

She turned around, towards the way he had left. She could no longer see his tall statue and didn't know when she would next.

"Ichigo-"She called out, mournfully almost. The empty street did nothing but make her feel more alone than she'd ever felt before. She knew he couldn't hear her, he never would, no matter how loud she yelled it; instead, she'd have to tell him. She just doubted she'd ever get the chance to.

Before her eyes could completely cloud up, she looked down the empty street and understood she had possibly made one of the biggest mistakes of her life; she'd never felt worse.

A/N: What did you think? I know it was really short, so review and I will update one that's 4,000 words. I promise. Thank you for reading. I love you all.


	10. Author's Note sorry :'

Hey people.

I'm sorry, I had hoped not to ever have to do an Author's Note, but what do we have here? Is it an Author's note? Yup. And I'm sorry. But it has to be done.

I don't know what to do next, wow, I suck as a writer. / I am writing this to ask you guys what you want out of this story from here on out. Tell me through any way you can, I really don't care, as long as you get it to me.

Some of you may be like, what? What does she mean, what do we want?

Well, I mean, like, what do you want to happen next. I know I left it off at a scene that would seem like I knew what I was doing, but I don't. So, I figure I could do a time skip. I guess that's obvious. It's what I thought seemed more fit.

If you want a time skip, how much of time would you want? I could do a few years or a few months. It all depends on what you guys want.

So, just tell me what you guys want. I would greatly appreciate it, greatly. Thank you very much.


	11. Skeptic Wishes

A/N: So this is chapter something of Stay Strong, it's almost finished

A/N: So this is chapter something of Stay Strong, it's almost finished. It's short, but hopefully sweet. I hope you guys like it. And just like all the other chapters of this crazy story, this chapter really makes no sense. So, yeah…

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's characters.

Stay Strong

Skeptic Wishes

She perched on his window seal, the ugly curtains flowing around her. Rukia pushed the stubborn strand of hair out of her face and continued to study Ichigo for what might be the last time.

This night was much like the night she had first left Ichigo. The night had that same deranged sense of unsettled peace, that same smell that said things were just going to turn into complete and utter ruin. She knew there was a difference though, this night she wouldn't be coming back.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him toss and turn. He sighed stressfully in his unconsciousness and Rukia could easily guess why.

Although it was hard enough to watch him so clearly go through pain, it hurt even more to know she was at fault.

That made her angry, but she knew deep inside that the anger was just masking what she really felt, the distress from the thought of losing him.

Her intent had been to go to the human world and end things once and for all; to talk to him. She had been confident and sure that she could do it.

However, now that she was there, she began to doubt herself. She really didn't want to end things, but she knew she had to if they would ever move on.

Now, she knew what she would do. She would wake him up and end things for her own sake, then kill his memories of her for his. It was the best thing to do; it was the only thing to do.

Quickly and stealthily, she slid from his window into his room and sat on the edge of his bed. She silently shook his shoulder until he woke up, surprise etched on his face when he saw who it was who had woken him.

"Rukia?" He asked in surprise.

She nodded her head, and waited for him to ask the question she expected.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, slightly looking around as well as looking at her.

"I love you, Ichigo." She whispered and knew that she should take his memories right then, only she couldn't, because she had to know what his response would be. Even if it would kill her for the next few centuries.

It took Ichigo a moment to recover from that shock.

"Really?" He stupidly asked.

Rukia immediately felt destroyed. She knew that his response would be like that, yet she just had to know for sure.

"Yes, and I love you enough to do this, too."

Ichigo did not get to utter another word to her, as she then took his memories of her away from him. He then fell back to sleep, to only remember her and this night as a dream.

A/N: What did you all think? Hm… Well, I'm almost done with the next chapter, it's gonna be the last one and it's from Ichigo's perspective, the next morning. Yes I know this story sucks, but thanks to all of you who read and who offered solutions to my little problem I had last chap. Anyway, thanks and please review. Heart.


	12. A Love So Strong Can Only Be A Dream

Chapter Something of Stay Strong: the last at last.

A Love So Strong Can Only Be A Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

Ichigo woke up with the most vivid dream he's ever had stuck in his head. It took a few minutes to realize that it actually was just a dream and that none of it had happened.

In his dream, there'd been a small girl; who, however small, appeared to be his age. Knowledge of many years could be seen in her eyes and she'd had jet-black hair that contrasted greatly against her light complexion. She'd been beautiful but Ichigo had felt a barrier between them, though he had also felt a strange yearning and desire to be with her.

Despite her delicate features, he remembered she was really feisty and independent.

While she was quite a character, there had been only a few moments in which he'd seen her vulnerable. And in those times, he'd both wanted to comfort her but for the most part hadn't because of that barrier he'd felt.

Though it was only a dream, he'd been able feel the bond that they had together. It was strong and felt like he'd known her for a long time.

Ichigo remembered one thing the most from his dream, which was a fight they'd had. It had happened towards the end and they'd been in some empty alleyway somewhere.  
He'd been trying to find her in a place he didn't know and when he did, they'd had a small argument over whether or not she would return with him to his home.  
He remembered how much he'd wanted her to come with him but also how he wouldn't just tell her that. He'd been holding back deliberately, well aware of the consequences, yet still too stubborn to put his pride on the line.

As he thought about it now, he wondered why such a small thing as whether or not she would stay or go made such a big deal. Couldn't they have just gone back and forth or something? It wasn't like it was a life or death situation.

Just as he was finally getting out of bed, he remembered something else from the dream that he'd forgotten. He was amazed he could forget something as big as her telling him she loved him.

Right before he'd woken up, she'd come back to him and told him she loved him. Then he'd known he loved her also but for some reason, he only said, "Really?" Instead of telling her he loved her too. She then became saddened, but only said, "Yes, and I love you enough to do this."

Ichigo hadn't known what 'this' was but he'd woken up right there and hadn't gotten the chance to tell her he loved her or anything else.

It made Ichigo slightly regretful, though he didn't know why as it was just a dream.

Later on that day, He was cleaning his room and had to go into his closet to grab an extra blanket.  
As he reached up for one, he'd felt a small breeze move through the room, which was odd as the window was closed. He pushed the thought away though, making himself think that it had just been the whoosh of the lifted blankets.

Before he slid the closet door shut, he looked around it. It was plain, not much in it, as average as any other closet but something told him something was missing, he just didn't know what.

And as he shut the door and turned around, he sighed, noticing he also felt a lacking of something inside himself. He just didn't know what, nor would he ever know for sure.

A/N: So, that was the END. Sorry, if it sucked ass. Yeah, you guys had protestations about it, saying you didn't like last chapter. But this is life, folks, lol, sad things happen. Get used to it, this earth is one cruel place. So yeah… I hope you got it, that Rukia's existence is now just a dream to him.. Hmm… just drop a review it'd be nice to make up for the possible flames. Lol

But now that I have this story out of the way (as it is now completed) I think I will work on other stories much more now. So never fear, I'm still here. Lol

Hate,

AquaPurpleBubble


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